What are you intending to do with the bike? Whats your weight? If you are racing, it would make sense. As high performance wheels will give you the most improvement. If you are sports cyclist. Then its a waste of money. You would be better off getting a custom made wheel set designed for you and your riding style. They would also cost you less than half the money for the Zipp’s.

Deep carbon wheels are not going to do a thing for you if you ride under 25mph. In fact, they might be worse than regular wheels at speeds under 25mph because of their sensitivity to crosswinds. Also, if you break a spoke on RAGBRAI or anywhere else, you are going to be very unhappy with how long it takes for the shop to repair them, and the cost. With the proliferation of high tech wheels, no bike shop can stock all spokes for all wheels, so they have to order. If you are in the boonies, you are out of luck.

In the long run, you are much better off with some standard hubs (Shimano Ultegra or Dura Ace are great) and a Mavic Open Pro rim laced with DT or other high quality double-butted spokes, unless you are racing. I have wheels that were built over 40 years ago (FORTY YEARS AGO!) that are still perfect and are still repairable at any bike shop, because they were built by hand with standard, quality components.

I’ll torque a bunch of people off with this statement, too: your carbon wonder frames are going to be at the bottom of a landfill while I am still happily riding my steel and titanium framed bikes. Most current cycling products are the very definition of planned obsolescence.

Tony: What are you intending to do with the bike? Whats your weight? If you are racing, it would make sense. As high performance wheels will give you the most improvement. If you are sports cyclist. Then its a waste of money. You would be better off getting a custom made wheel set designed for you and your riding style. They would also cost you less than half the money for the Zipp’s.

I am planning on doing some racing for the first time next year. I am 5′ 10″, 59 years old and currently weigh 190, down from 264. I am not going to get them until I get to 175, kinda a incentive to get my goal weight. To answer another post, I don’t average 25 now, more like 19-20 over a 30 mile ride is good for me.

I bought Zipp 101’s last March and have put over 2,500 miles on them. They are much faster and lighter than my original wheels. They also have a wider rim than most wheels. Zipps advertises that this softens the ride and I agree based on my experience.

I chose the aluminum Zipps because I’m not a racer, but wanted Zipp technology. I’m 52 and average 18-20 on distance rides depending on the terrain.

Many people make comments about the cost of Zipps, but my LBS sold them at a fair price and very close to the price of their competitors comparable wheels.

At that weight I don’t think carbon wheels are a good option.Your wheels absorb the majority of the force from road impacts and rider weight. There is a fine line between durability and efficiency. Pro’s give up durability for that efficiency. Look at all the wheels they have at the ready. They know they are pushing them to the max. They have different wheels for different road conditions. Your average Joe racer or sport rider does not have this luxury. So for them. The best option is custom wheels. If you decide on factory wheels. I would also look at DT Swiss, Rolf and Mavic aluminum wheel sets. I have gotten wheels made from Pro Wheel Builder. The do an excellent job at a very reasonable price. They will custom build you a set of wheels for your weight and application.

Tony: At that weight I don’t think carbon wheels are a good option.Your wheels absorb the majority of the force from road impacts and rider weight. There is a fine line between durability and efficiency. Pro’s give up durability for that efficiency. Look at all the wheels they have at the ready. They know they are pushing them to the max. They have different wheels for different road conditions. Your average Joe racer or sport rider does not have this luxury. So for them. The best option is custom wheels. If you decide on factory wheels. I would also look at DT Swiss, Rolf and Mavic aluminum wheel sets. I have gotten wheels made from Pro Wheel Builder. The do an excellent job at a very reasonable price. They will custom build you a set of wheels for your weight and application. http://www.prowheelbuilder.com/

If you are going to get some Zipp’s (awesome wheels but I don’t have any) keep your current wheels and learn how to move your cassette. Use you current wheels for training and daily riding, use the zipps during races and events.

I have switched back to my original Mavic wheels when there has been the possibility of rain. I have found that a rear derailleaur adjustment is needed to switch from my Zipps to Mavic or vice versa. My lbs told me that the cassette lines up in a slightly different position than the position on the Mavics.

murphymp: I am planning on doing some racing for the first time next year. I am 5′ 10″, 59 years old and currently weigh 190, down from 264. I am not going to get them until I get to 175, kinda a incentive to get my goal weight. To answer another post, I don’t average 25 now, more like 19-20 over a 30 mile ride is good for me.

Well if you plan on racing then wait until you have had your first crash or two before buying some expensive wheels that cost too much to replace. Also ask yourself how much you will benefit from the Zipp wheels aerodynamics when you are tucked in the middle of a pack. Ride quality is often influenced as much by tire selction and tire pressure. A good set of handbuilt wheels designed for your weight and riding style can be as fast as riders on Zipps or other factory built wheels and you can rebuild them after a crash on a Saturday night or in a cornfield in Iowa if necessary.

Altidude:
I’ll torque a bunch of people off with this statement, too:your carbon wonder frames are going to be at the bottom of a landfill while I am still happily riding my steel and titanium framed bikes. Most current cycling products are the very definition of planned obsolescence.

You didn’t torque me off at all! I’ve been riding a completely upgraded Reynolds 853 Select frame (LeMond) with new equipement – and nice Mavic Elite wheels. I recently purchased a 2002 LeMond Victoire frame with a new carbon/aluminum steerer fork and will begin building it up this fall. I’ve seen a lot of breakage with carbon in the last few years, and the carbon bikes from even six years ago are showing some deterioration with some of my cycling friends……..